Health care experience

I actually had a positive experience with Medicaid so to be fair, I wanted to share it.

My 22 year old son is on Medicaid due to his disabilities.  He came to me with a complaint about a lump on his leg.  My mom is a nurse, and I've personally dealt with a lot of "lumps."  I took a look at it and it scared even me.  It was sitting on what looked like a vein or artery.  I called his primary doctor to see about getting him in that morning.

This particular doctor is from India, but has been here long enough to only have a slight accent.  He's a gentle grey haired man that is very likable.  His staff asked what city I was in, because he has clinics with varying hours in multiple cities.  I told her and told her which one I went to.  She said they moved a year ago.  Sounds about right, my son hasn't seen his primary in about a year...why should he?  He's basically healthy.  She asked who is primary was, duh, and then asked who he had been seeing over the last year.  I told her no one, there hasn't been a problem.  After the confusion, she told me I could come in at 9:30 (they open at 9:00).  Fast appointment.  This office has hours during the day, but it's something like 2:00 PM until 6:00 PM.  That's why I've been putting of his fasting labs.  Who wants to fast until 2PM?

So, the doctor did his exam.  I also had my very hyperactive 13 year old with me, and he had the doctor really distracted.  He said it was probably just a fatty cyst that got infected, and it would need to be drained.  He was about to take us into another room to do just that, when I asked about the possibility of it being on a vein.  He looked again, and actually agreed with me.  He said in that case, it would be too dangerous because if it was vascular, we'd have a lot of blood.  I said, kind of like getting a heart catherization, where you have to practically sit on it to stop the flow.  He said yes.

He decided to put him on antibiotics to see if it went down any.  Then he asked if there was anything else we needed.  I said he was supposed to get a fasting lab, but he'd already had a little MIO in his bottled water, and didn't think he could.  He said that little bit wouldn't matter.  So HE took him into another room and drew his blood.  My son also has hypothyroidism, so those levels needed checked.  While we were in the exam room, he had asked how my son was with self-care.  I told him he took care of himself, and even took care of me for a while while I was sickest.  My son told him he could make me eggs, and I added or pasta.  That's the two things he can cook.  I told him about my illness, and he asked what kind of cancer.  He said his nurse was going through the same thing.  I suppose that's why he is doing his own blood draws.

He also decided to send us to Baylor to get an ultrasound of the lump, to see if it actually was a cyst or vascular.  I told him Baylor didn't accept Medicaid.  He was stunned and said he was pretty sure they did.  I told him I didn't think so (forgetting about the experience with the sprained wrist) and that they didn't take my insurance either, Tricare Prime.  He said that's just wrong.  They're a not-for-profit hospital and should take any and all insurance.  His office lady heard us and came in to ask if he needed anything.  He explained he wanted an ultrasound.  She said they usually use this one company (I won't say which) and that they had a mobile unit that would come to our house.  This would be SO convenient.  I have epilepsy and can't really drive where I've never been (especially with 2 chatter boxes distracting me) without risk of a seizure.  All I need is to have my driving revoked for 6 months.

So, they are supposed to call tomorrow or Tuesday to set up a time to come out and ultrasound his leg.  If I hadn't had so many problems with Tricare Prime (also a government health care plan) or Medicaid itself, I would almost have hope.  The advantage here is this doctor has been taught in India or Great Brittain and is used to this.  Our Doctors are in it for the money and won't appreciate having to write off so much.  Maybe our Doctors have just gotten spoiled by their association with big Pharma and the AMA and only get in the profession in order to make sure their kids get a good education.  Doctors from other countries don't expect to get a big paycheck, so they go into it to heal people.

The Political Side of Medicine

Ah, I remember like it was yesterday. Our fearless leader was trying to sell us on the "Affordable Health Care Bill." They wouldn't actually TELL us what was in the bill. Remember Pelosi's you have to pass it to find out what's in it? But we were assured that we would get to keep our doctors if we liked them, our premiums would not go up, our care would not be determined by some bureaucrat sitting in an office and a lot of people would get insurance that couldn't afford it before. We were also told that even thinking there would be death panels was ludicrous, it would never happen in this land of lollipops and candy canes.

And then reality hit. I just got an email yesterday that my insurance premiums are going up 17%. Let's do the math here. My income didn't go up 17%. My husband makes $15 an hour. In order to get a 17% raise, he would have to start earning $2.55 more, per hour. He's never gotten a raise that big. He had to threaten to leave to get $1. And I think that's the only raise he's gotten in 7 years. For his military retirement to go up 17%, he'd have to get $241.23 more a month.

When I write my budget, I take everything that comes into the household and then what I need to pay for. I divide some by a month, because my husband's retirement is a monthly income. That would be the mortgage and truck/car payments. Then I use an average 40 hour week for the estimate of his work income. Yes, he gets a retirement check but you don't actually think we can retire on it, do you? It means I don't have to go out and get an $8 an hour job, and then pay for child care for an adult handicapped person. I can't just add another few bucks in without lowering something else. What am I going to lower? Food? Gasoline? Am I going to tell the utility company, "I'm sorry, but I'm not paying the full amount you charged me because I have to have healthcare?"

Then, as if that weren't enough, I called to find out when my next appointment was with my oncologist. I just got a new doctor. We decided that instead of the shot for suppressing my calcium (I have cancer on my spine, rib and next to my breastbone), he would start me on an infusion that would strengthen my bones. But when I stopped to make the appointment, the appointment lady was on lunch break. Usually they just make it and then call me. It's tomorrow, and they hadn't called yet, so I called them. She said I'm getting 2 shots. I explained that they changed one shot to an infusion that was supposed to take about an hour. She said they changed it back. I asked why and she said it "was the channel they chose to use." I said, "Oh, so my insurance company wouldn't approve it?" She just said that she'd let someone else tell me that. So, my insurance company has written me off and decided I'm not worth the cost of the better drug, I get the cheaper one. But there are no death panels. And our doctors will be able to treat us as they see fit.

It's a good thing I think the Big Pharma is suppressing a cure for cancer. I'll continue my B17. I raised the dose. I now take a 100mg tablet at night and another one in the morning. I started getting pain on my breast bone about 3PM. I figure this ought to stop it.

I hope I have a few readers, because I must reiterate: I am on government health care. This is what you all have to look forward to. I have to wonder what standards they'll use to determine who gets what care? Is the money that they would have spent on me (as a veteran of only 4 years, and a dependent) going to someone injured in the war? Does the fact that I'm now nearing 50, and no longer in the work force play a part in it? What standard would they use on you? Is your newborn too young, with not enough money invested in him/her from the education department, etc., thus not eligible for that life saving procedure they need? Is your mom, who just turned 70 and has had a stroke, determined to be of no value to society anymore, so they're just going to give her a pain pill and let her slip away in comfort? When this happens to you, remember my story.

I've been thinking a lot about modern medicine lately. I guess partly because of undergoing cancer treatment, and the fact that my husband just recently broke his leg. There's a controversy over aspirin vs Tylenol. I found this about aspirin:

Hippocrates, a Greek physician, wrote in the fifth century B.C.E. about a bitter powder extracted from willow bark that could ease aches and pains and reduce fevers. This remedy is also mentioned in texts from ancient Sumeria, Egypt, and Assyria. Native Americans claim to have used it for headaches, fever, sore muscles, rheumatism, and chills. The Reverend Edward Stone, a vicar from Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire, England, noted in 1763 that the bark of the willow was effective in reducing a fever.

These are the common side effects:

Gastrointestinal complaints (stomach upset, dyspepsia, heartburn, small blood loss). To help avoid these problems, it is recommended that aspirin be taken at or after meals. Undetected blood loss may lead to hypochromic anemia.

Severe gastrointestinal complaints (gross bleeding and/or ulceration), requiring discontinuation and immediate treatment. Patients receiving high doses and/or long-term treatment should receive gastric protection with high-dosed antacids, ranitidine, or omeprazole.

Frequently, central nervous system effects (dizziness, tinnitus, hearing loss, vertigo, centrally mediated vision disturbances, and headaches). The higher the daily dose is, the more likely it is that central nervous system side effects will occur.

Sweating, seen with high doses, independent from antipyretic action
With long-term treatment with high doses (for arthritis and rheumatic fever), often increased liver enzymes without symptoms, rarely reversible liver damage. The potentially fatal Reye's syndrome may occur, if given to pediatric patients with fever and other signs of infections. The syndrome is due to fatty degeneration of liver cells. Up to 30 percent of those afflicted will eventually die. Prompt hospital treatment may be life-saving.

Chronic nephritis with long-term use, usually if used in combination with certain other painkillers. This condition may lead to chronic renal failure.

Prolonged and more severe bleeding after operations and post-traumatic for up to 10 days after the last aspirin dose. If one wishes to counteract the bleeding tendency, fresh thrombocyte concentrate will usually work.

Skin reactions, angioedema,, and bronchospasm have all been seen infrequently.

But, on the other hand, we have Tylenol.

However, when taken in excessive quantities or when combined with alcohol, acetaminophen may cause death due to liver failure. In fact, an overdose of acetaminophen is the most common cause of fulminant hepatic failure as well as the most common cause of drug-induced liver disease in the United States. After acetaminophen became readily available in 1960 as an over-the-counter medication, it became one of the most popular means of attempting suicide. For liver injury to occur, acetaminophen must generally be consumed in quantities exceeding 15 grams within a short period of time, such as in a single dose. Although uncommon, ingestion of 7 to 10 grams at one time may cause liver damage.

Acetaminophen has a narrow therapeutic index. This means that the common dose is close to the overdose, making it a relatively dangerous substance.

Acetaminophen single doses above 10 grams or chronic doses over 5 grams per day in a well-nourished non-consumer of alcohol, or above 4 grams per day in a poorly nourished consumer of alcohol, can cause significant injury to the liver. Without timely treatment, acetaminophen overdoses can lead to liver failure and death within days. Because of the wide over-the-counter availability of the drug, it is sometimes used in suicide attempts.

Acetaminophen should not be taken after alcohol consumption, because the liver, when engaged in alcohol breakdown, cannot properly dispose of acetaminophen, thus increasing the risk of hepatotoxicity.

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So, let's see if I have this straight....God gave us a tree whose bark can reduce pain and fever, among other things. Instead of harvesting it with intelligence, and replanting, when they started running low on trees, they just made a man-made alternative. The natural remedy had a few drawbacks, mostly gastrointestinal, and the man-made one causes liver damage, and the overdose is close to the level of treatment.

This got me to thinking. Why, when the big pharmaceutical companies see how many people are going back to home-remedies, or herbal remedies, don't they just start making those? Why do they cling to their old standbys and not get into the herbal remedy business?

Well, I think I came up with an answer. Herbal remedies are natural, and therefore have fewer side effects. Pharmaceuticals, on the other hand, cause side effects that will lead to needing more pharmaceuticals. If they sold herbal remedies, they would make less money because people wouldn't need as many different kinds to treat the different side effects.

Mr. Obama slams big Pharma on one hand, and yet he wants to make herbal remedies regulated like pharmaceuticals. He wants to drive out the small store that sells natural remedies, so that big pharma doesn't have any competition.